CIA chief in Algeria accused of drugging and raping Muslim women

The CIA station chief in Algiers is under investigation after claims that he drugged and raped two Algerian women at his official residence, according to a report.

By Alex Spillius in Washington

9:25PM GMT 28 Jan 2009

Law enforcement sources told ABC News that the 41-year-old officer, named as Muslim convert Andrew Warren, had been sent home in October. He could face charges as early as next month.

Investigators from the Justice Department allegedly found more than a dozen secretly recorded videotapes of the Mr Warren performing sex acts with other women. An official said one woman appeared to be in a "semi-conscious state".

Both the women who came forward to complain and made sworn statements are Muslim, and the case could spark a strong reaction in the Arab world. One of the women said she met the him at the bar in the American embassy before going to his residence, where she was drugged.

Algiers is one of the most sensitive posts in the agency, as it works closely with local intelligence services against a branch of al-Qaeda that has been responsible for major bombings, including an attack in the capital last August that killed 48 people.

The CIA refused to confirm that the investigation was taking place, but a spokesman said: "I can assure you the agency would take seriously, and follow up on, any allegations of impropriety." ABC's sources said the investigation had expanded to Egypt where the officer, who has not been named, served previously.

"This will be seen as the typical ugly American," said Bob Baer, a former CIA officer. "My question is how the CIA would not have picked up on this in their own regular reviews of officers overseas."

American troops have been the subject of sexual assault and rape cases in places like Japan, that helped turn public opinion against US military presence, but it is rare for a CIA officer to be implicated in such a case.